1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a telecommunications network comprising a switching unit to which at least one telecommunications terminals is connected and which can be operated and maintained from a distance, namely from a host computer, by the operator of the telecommunications network over a data link, with call charge data of subscribers of the telecommunications network being transmittable to the host computer.
Such telecommunications networks are generally known.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The number of service providers which offer telecommunications and other services via telecommunications networks, and the number of such networks, is steadily increasing. The telecommunications networks are not only classical wireline or wireless telephone networks but also "information highways" in a general sense, over which any kind of communicative services can be provided.
As these services generally are not provided free, charges normally have to be paid by the subscriber to the network operator for their use. In the classical telephone network, the subscriber had to be informed about the charges by a monthly telephone bill. If a charge meter was provided at the terminal, the user could monitor the increase of his or her debt by noting down the number of message units indicated per call--an inconvenient procedure. Large customers can also get their telephone bills on CD-ROM, but only after the end of a billing period. So far, only authorized employees of the network operator have direct data access for determining charges accrued since the beginning of the billing period. Such employees, however, are not interested in determining the current debt of a network subscriber who is otherwise unknown to them.